FateAfterNight
by King Excalibur
Summary: The Sixth Holy Grail War looms ahead, a battle among the heroic kings escalates. Set six months after fate ending true.
1. Avalon

**Avalon**

Ever since the 5th Holy Grail War ended half a year ago, Shirou has reverted back to his normal life.

However, at night when he is asleep, he dreams of a paradise. It is a paradise where all kings go to in death, Avalon.

"Welcome back, Shirou," A familiar yet kind and gentle voice welcomes him.

In his dream he turns around, he couldn't help but smile as he saw her again.

"Saber," He greeted.

He wished that he could stay in this paradise forever, but all dreams have to come to an end.

This was still only his second visit to this place, with lush grass and tall apple trees all over the place.

He sat down on the grass beside Saber, who was wearing her battle armor.

"Hey Saber, why do you look like you're going to battle?" Shirou asked.

It was strange of her to wear that, considering now that she had reached paradise and all.

Saber looked slightly uncomfortable as she looked around.

Shirou frowned. _Don't tell me there's something or someone in this paradise—_

"Well…You know that Avalon is actually the resting place for all dead kings right…" Saber said cautiously.

_I don't like where this is going, _thought Shirou.

A sudden realization hit him.

He stood up in shock, thoughts racing.

"Wa—wait! Don't tell me it's—" Shirou frantically said.

Suddenly the air seemed to go dark.

"What's that you said, brat?" A high and pompous voice accused.

Shirou turned around slowly.

"—Gilgamesh," he finished weakly.

He was still clad in golden armor and had a hand on his hips.

"Never thought I'll meet you here, boy," he smirked.

"Gilgamesh! Don't tell me you want to fight! I'm not afraid of you!" Shirou backed away immediately.

Saber stood up hastily, clutching Shirou's shoulder.

"Stay calm, Shirou," She instructed him calmly.

Gilgamesh sneered and went over to an apple tree.

"As if I have time to squash worms," he muttered and raised his hands to pluck an apple.

And then he stopped halfway.

An eyebrow of his twitched.

Shirou saw this and stifled his laughter.

Gilgamesh isn't tall enough to reach the apples?

Saber sighed in exasperation.

"Shirou, you are definitely shorter than Gilgamesh," She said with a straight face.

He threw himself back in shock. Shorter than Gilgamesh? He stared at the golden haired king. Now that she mentioned it…

Shirou slumped his back as he got dejected about his height. _I'm short…_ Shirou thought with growing self-consciousness.

"Argh I had enough!" Gilgamesh screamed, brining Shirou back to reality.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Gate. Of. Babylon.<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><em>Suddenly a large shining gate rose up from the ground, revealing a thousand hovering blades pointed towards the apple tree.

His eyes glinted with amusement.

"This is what happens if you oppose me! Gilgamesh the King!" He started yelling at the tree as if it was alive.

He clicked his fingers and pointed at the tree, staring it down as if it was an enemy to be obliterated.

"Muahahahahaa!" He threw his head back and laughed, his hands crooked upwards in mad ecstasy. "Hahahahahaaaa!"

The thousand blades paused for a moment, and darted forward, stabbing the tree into oblivion, tearing even the apples into pieces. The tree looked more like a pin cushion after he was done.

Gilgamesh turned away from the tree as it fell into a million pieces behind him.

"Gilgamesh, I think you went a bit too far with the apple tree…" Shirou said in pity of the dead vegetation.

Gilgamesh shot him a cold look.

"Everything here is mine, all mine."

He puffed and continued to walk past them, ignoring their presence entirely.

"That man is dangerous," Shirou commented.

_He might do something dangerous like…picking teeth with his swords maybe? _Shirou thought about it and shuddered.

Saber gave him a funny look.

"I fear one day as I am sleeping under a tree he might mistake me for an apple and decide to impale me with a million swords once he realizes I'm not," Saber muttered after the golden king.

"Oh don't worry; I'm sure Gilgamesh will have indigestion if he tries to eat you," Shirou waved his hand dismissively.

"Shirou," Saber said to him.

"Hm?" He replied, his thoughts still on the dangerous things Gilgamesh could be doing.

"Nothing," She said, although she wished she could tell him the million things that were going through her mind right now.


	2. Matou Shinji Rises

**A/N : Before I forget, I do not own Fate/Stay night or its characters.**

** Well so here's the second chapter, what's a story without an antagonist right? Don't expect too much action initially; I'm focusing more on character development first before proceeding with storyline. Please tell me your opinions .**

* * *

><p><strong>Matou Shinji Rises<strong>

_Am I dead?_

Matou Shinji stared into the blank sky.

His last memories were of pure terror, the Servant Berserker slaughtering him like a piece of meat.

He placed a hand of his face and laughed coldly. In the end he was failure. He lost to Emiya Shirou once again.

His eyes flashed with hatred at the thought of him. _Emiya Shirou._

It was always all about Emiya Shirou. _Emiya Shirou, Emiya Shirou, Emiya Shirou._

He was sick and tired of it. Even his useless sister worshiped him.

His other hand clenched into a fist. He refused to accept such an end.

Images of his grandfather looking at him with contempt came back to him. _All because I lacked a magic circuit, _Shinji thought angrily.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Heed my words.<strong>_

* * *

><p>His hatred grew as he remembered how Emiya Shirou's servant defeated his Rider with just one slash.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>My will creates your body and your sword creates my destiny.<strong>_

* * *

><p>He remembered his sister, Sakura, perpetually apologizing to him, annoying him.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.<strong>_

* * *

><p>He clenched his fist with even more rage till blood flowed freely from his palm, his breath coming in quick angry gasps. This cannot be the end of him, he must attain his one dream, and he must become a magus unlike any other.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world.<strong>_

* * *

><p>He recalled his last moments, the silver-haired noble looking down on him like dirt. He would not accept that. His blood boiled as he thought about her, his mind craving for revenge. Drool started to spill from his lips as his mouth was bared in rage, veins protruding all around his eyes.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>You, Seven Heavens, shrouded by the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of inhibition.<strong>_

* * *

><p>He gave a cry of bloodlust, his eyes wild and unstable. He would hunt them down for sure, those who looked down him, those who treated him with useless sympathy. He would get his revenge on them and laugh as they beg for his mercy. They will cower before the greatness that is him, Matou Shinji.<p>

The top of his right palm started to glow with a fierce red light and the smell of burnt flesh arose as red symbols burned themselves onto his hand. But Shinji was too caught up in his self-delusional world to bother about such things.

The floor below him glowed with an eerie light, bathing the half-crazed Shinji in a light that was so peaceful that he paused for a second to contemplate it.

Suddenly the glow intensified and filled his surroundings, blinding his wide-opened eyes.

As Shinji shook himself and scratched his eyes, frantically trying to recover from his blindness, he felt, rather than heard a man stepping forward.

He stopped his antics and peered between his hands. Through his blurred vision he saw an orange-haired man approach through a mist that was covering the floor.

"_I command thee, lowly being, art thou the being that calls himself thy master?"_

His vision cleared and his pupils focused upon the figure before him.

"_I am Perseus_, **King of Macedon.**"

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><p><em><strong>AN: That's the end of the second chapter, not as cheerful as the first one :\ I've always been fascinated at how Shinji continues to believe he's the best despite of everything. And just to take note, Perseus is the 'successful' Matou Shinji according to Rider if you don't already know. Feel free to tell me if I've gotten something wrong, thanks .**_


	3. Kotomine's Warning

**Yet Another Day**

"Good morning Onii-chan" a bright cheery voice greeted him as usual in the corridor.

"Good morning Ilya," Shirou mumbled back in reply.

Ilya looked positively shocked at his sleepy reply.

"Onii-chan! You should greet a lady properly," She pouted.

"Sorry Ilya, I guess I'm still kind of half-asleep," Shirou replied and shook himself awake.

Walking side by side with the silver-haired girl, he arrived at his living room.

"Good morning Senpai!" Sakura called out to him.

"Hey there Sakura," He greeted.

Ilya sulked, "You still haven't greeted me properly yet."

"Yes yes, good morning your exalted majesty," Shirou said curtly.

Ilya sniffed and promptly turned up her nose and proceeded to eat breakfast in silence.

He shrugged and ate his own breakfast, indulging in his own private thoughts of Avalon.

This was abruptly interrupted by Ilya's sudden interjection.

"Onii-chan! I just remembered something!"

"Say it then," he said and started drinking a cup of water.

"Kotomine Kirei said he _needed _to see you for a moment as soon as possible," Ilya said airily.

Shirou choked on his water.

"Ko—Kotomine Kirei!"

Ilya said nothing and continued to eat her breakfast.

"What does he want me for?"

"He said that if you don't wish to see him its fine by him, only he would be sad that you would die without knowing why."

"Since when did Kirei care about me?"

"He doesn't, he just thinks it's more interesting to see the look on your face when you die with full knowledge of why."

"That sounds more like the Kotomine I know."

Shirou somehow managed to muster up enough courage to walk all the way to the front of the church.

"What was I thinking!" Shirou muttered under his breath. "It's dangerous to go near that priest at all."

He hesitated for a long time in front of the doorsteps, turning back and front.

At last he could not stand it and decided to postpone his meeting.

Just as he turned to leave—

"Emiya Shirou, how nice of you to come and offer prayers to God," An irritatingly familiar voice said to him.

—Kotomine Kirei had arrived at the doorstep.

Summoning his mental strength to keep his calm about him, Shirou faced him.

"I thought you _needed _me to listen to what you have to say."

Kirei turned slightly to the side and snorted, closing his eyes with a slight twist of his lips as if he expected that reply.

"As expected of the son of Kiritsugu; quick to talk but slow to listen. But very well, I shall get to the point," He said as he looked at me with contempt.

"The Holy Grail War is not over."

Shirou momentarily froze.

Kirei continued to speak, ignoring Shirou's reaction.

"I have received reports of coma incidents happening in the rural areas; of course this can only mean one thing. A Servant is still alive." He paused and eyed Shirou from the side.

"And it is impossible for a Servant to be in the human world unless it is brought here by the power of the Holy Grail or it has bathed in its contents and its master is still alive."

"But since none of the masters I know of still have any command seals, the only reasonable conclusion is that the Holy Grail has summoned it here and there is a new master out there."

"Of course, since the fifth Holy Grail War was already concluded six months ago, one can say that this is the beginning of the sixth Holy Grail War. It seems that the Holy Grail is getting impatient. The contents inside the Holy Grail have been stagnant for too long and the Holy Grail cannot contain it any further."

Shirou's head spun in confusion at Kirei's explanation.

"So you mean…that a sixth Holy Grail war is in progress now?"

"Yes, but naturally, it seems only one master has been chosen so far."

"And why are you telling me this?"

Kirei raised an eyebrow to look at him skeptically.

"I thought that being the protector of justice meant that you have to stop this Holy Grail War too, considering that this time the masters are probably going to butcher one another in spectacular fashions. Pity I couldn't do that myself," He muttered the last sentence as an afterthought.

"Strange, I had the impression you didn't approve of me."

Kirei snorted again,

"I don't approve of your ideals; they are childish and utterly unrealistic."

He smiled and stretched out his arms in exultation.

"But it just amuses me to see you try. So please try your best to put up a good enough show to keep me interested enough."

Shirou gritted his teeth and by sheer willpower resisted the urge to punch Kirei's guts.

"Thanks for that," he forced himself to say.

With that he turned to leave.

"Oh yes Shirou."

Shirou looked over his shoulder to stare at Kirei, who had one foot on the doorsteps of the church and a bible in his right hand.

"Try not to die," He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Shirou, too stunned to speak, could only walk away silently.

When he was halfway back home, a realization hit him.

_The only reason Kotomine Kirei said isn't because he cared about me, _He thought as he remembered Ilya's words.

_It's because he just wants to kill me himself._


End file.
